DDD2: Chipmunk -- Design secrets of an RAF trainer

[@asobester]

Have you flown the Chipmunk? Do you perhaps still fly it from time to time? Do you maintain one? Do share your thoughts here on this timeless aeroplane - memories, how does it compare to other trainers you have flown, handling, quirks... do share :)

[@californiadreamin8423]

Hello Andras. Your video has brought back an avalanche of memories of my flying career which began when I was an Aero student at Loughborough from 68-72 , a thin sandwich course at BAC Warton. I was so lucky to be accepted into the UAS and be trained on the Chipmunk , for free , by the RAF. I have photos exactly the same as you show , of 2150 RPM/90 kts, in the cruise, well recall my amateur efforts checking out the phugoid , sppo, and neutral spiral stability , after it was covered in our lectures. I felt very brave letting go !! Years later when I instructed privately, and taught spin recovery, I checked my log book , and discovered I’d been authorised for solo spinning. It gave me confidence when I instructed on the Tomahawk which had had several spinning fatalities. Something you didn’t cover was the cartridge starting which produced a loud bag, a cockpit full of cordite , and when the smoke cleared and the panel stopped shaking, the engine was purring away. Ten years after graduating and leaving engineering, my first commercial type was the Dak. I recall à wing drop of say 75 degrees during one stall exercise which left the instructor breathing heavily , but years of instructing on weekends , and sound basic training stood me in good stead. This led to a career of 32 years, 30,000 plus hours on the DC3, Viscount , DC9, Fk100, 737, A320, and finally balsa models , back where I started. I have the book of aerofoil sections you showed upstairs…..I’ll have to look at the Chipie data again, and have Aerodynamics by Von Karman in my hand as I type. (At Warton, during my time in the Flight Test dept., I was given the tapes from the Lightning spinning trials (fitted with a spin recovery chute ) which I transferred onto graph paper. These showed that at a g stall, ( encountered during medium level dogfight manoeuvres ) the A/C would flick, and if the pilot attempted recovery , it would enter a spin with a colossal rate of descent which made recovery impossible. The recovery technique was to let go of the stick and after a few “wobbles” it would self recover. That’s how I recall it anyway. Thanks again for a great video.

[@asobester]

Thank you @@californiadreamin8423 What an extraordinary aviation career from the shaking panel of the Chipmunk to the smooth ‘smoke and mirrors’ magic of the A320! I’m so pleased that the video sparked this little trip down memory lane.

[@californiadreamin8423]

@@asobester I recall during my chipmunk spin training, be blasted by my instructor Flt Wools, for not having neutral aileron. The remedy was to use both hands on the stick to keep it centred. It’s not as straightforward on a control wheel type like a Tomahawk , so I wonder if this has ever been considered a factor.

[@macscott5290]

Hi loved the video. Flew in the chippy in the 70s as a teenager in the Air Training Corp out of RAF Turnhouse (edinburgh). The RAF reserve pilots that took us up were usually ex Lightening jockeys and still loved flying around in the DHC-1. Many happy memories of waddling out with the cushion parachute pack eager to hear the words “you have control” when we were in the air. Finally got my PPL aged 40 in the 90s (not in a chipmunk). About 30 hours after getting my license I thought I’d get a taildragger qualification and just by chance the was a DHC-1 that was available to hire so off I went with the club CFI back in a chipmunk after more than 20 years. The smell was just as I remembered it, as was the near perfect handling once airborne, couldn’t wipe the grin off my face for days. About 3 flights in with the instructor the ergonomics of the cockpit and the handling finally caught up with me. You need at least 3 hands when doing landings and have to swap hands on the stick when you want to use the brakes or change the flaps/throttle, usually just when you’re heavily loaded controlling the plane. One the 3rd touch and go in a slight cross wind I lost rudder authority and we gracefully ground looped and came to a complete stop pointing the wrong way on Woodford’s 45m wide 2,400m long, Vulcan friendly runway. Taxied back to the club, checked her out (all fine), changed trousers and had a full debrief with the CFI who was also wearing new trousers if I remember correctly. Still love the chippy to bits but they’ll bite and the ergonomics for touch and goes is a nightmare IMHO…..

[@asobester]

@@macscott5290 Wow! Thank you, and thank you also for the frank and colourful recollections 😎

[@rodblievers620]

I first learned to fly in the Chipmunk as a spotty-faced ATC cadet in the early 1960’s, little dreaming that 40 years later I’d be fortunate enough to own one! They really are a delightful aeroplane with superb handling. I thoroughly enjoyed your discourse, thank you.

[@asobester]

Thank you! And wow, lucky you to be able to own one - what vintage is it?

[@rodblievers620]

@@asobester Constructor’s number C1-0528, built in 1951 at Broughton ( Chester), retired from the RAF in 1994, now flying in Australia as VH-MMS.

[@asobester]

@@rodblievers620 Awesome. I hope you’ll get many more happy hours on board.

[@robmiles233]

First time visitor to your channel.I love the flying qualities of the Chipmunk and appreciate your thorough review of this beautiful aeroplane. Thank you for putting together such a comprehensive video.

[@FarmallDoctor]

I finally got to fly a beautiful Yellow RCAF Chippy a few weeks ago here in Ontario Canada! As a totally novice aviation enthusiast I was entirely delighted at the experience in some quite sporty weather. She was a very easy plane to maneuver and easily kept at altitude and heading. I enjoyed the controls, and found the stick control much more natural than the modern yoke controls which I had a hold of in my only other flight experience of a Cessna 150. . I look forward to having another go at it now that I've gotten a feel for it, and look forward to more learning experiences. ! Thanks for the video.

[@roryglobalactivites4054]

Just found this and I’m so pleased. I learned to fly in one of these at RAF Waddington back in 1981 with The ATC. Lovely to see this. Thanks again

[@asobester]

Glad you enjoyed it 😎

[@davidcramer4282]

I learned to fly the Chipmunk in the University of Birmingham Air Squadron in late 1959/early 1960. Due to other problems (not with flying!) I managed 150+ hours solo with cross-country, aerobatics and lots of theoretical instructions. Ready to join RAF, but I had marginal eyesight problem in one eye, so failed the aircrew medical. Have flown gliders and some 2-up in other light aircraft, but took a long time to get over it, since I had fallen for the idea of the RAF.

[@paulleblond2972]

Flew the Chipmunk on air experience flights as an RAF cadet from White Waltham in the 1960s. Pilots were RAF Volunteer Reserve, mostly BEA/BOAC pilots who flew jets and wanted to do aerobatics!

[@mothmagic1]

A lovely aircraft which I have always had a soft spot for. I've always thought that de Havilland really had a handle on building good looking aircraft. No matter the colour scheme or what angle your see them from they always look good.

[@asobester]

Agreed. In particular, I think the DH.88 was achingly pretty, so far ahead of its time.

[@TerenceMalone-i3h]

I flew the chipmunk in 1962 while I was at the College of Air Training. It was a nice aircraft but not as good as the Tiger Moth which I flew at Biggin Hill when I got a flying scholarship from the RAF. Great days!!

[@asobester]

Interesting- what did you prefer about the Tiger Moth?

[@Redchrome1]

Wow. Thank you so much for your deep dive into airfoil and wing area design considerations. This is so informative! I have a much better grasp of these things now. (Also a better grasp of how much I have yet to learn).

[@asobester]

I’m glad it was useful!

[@alyciamarrison2916]

1985 my first AEF at Manston, we flew over the white cliffs of Dover - I was bitten by the beauty of flying at age 15!

[@billyp4850]

The Australian report is rather interesting, given that the RAAF ultimately decided against using the Chipmunk to replace their Tiger Moths, instead opting for the home grown CAC CA-25 Winjeel. The Winjeel had its own spin problem, it was particularly difficult to make it spin! CAC modified the design by shifting the tail fin forward along the fuselage by approx. 400mm, reducing the stability of the aircraft and enabling the students to actually put the thing into a spin.

[@asobester]

Interesting! The notion of some trainers having had to be modified because they were too easy to spin, and others because they were too hard/impossible to spin, highlights that trainers are more difficult to design than most people would expect. I guess the Holy Grail is a variable geometry/variable control law aircraft that can be made to handle in different ways, depending on the training syllabus...

[@shadowpathy]

I flew a de Havilland DHC-1 Chipmunk out of Glasgow/Prestwick with my cousin with my cousin. It's a well powered and sturdy aircraft, that's comfortable and predictably responsive to a variety of aerobatic stick-pedal combinations. It would have been a perfect trainer for tail draggers. It should'nt be compared to more recently developed trainers, e.g., North Anerican T-28 Trojan, which was designed as a relatively complex trainer for modern jets.

[@ChipRed2]

Lucky owner of a former RDAF example manefactured at Hatfield in 1950 :-)

[@ellisandrews440]

I had initial flight training with the RCAF on the Chipmunk at CFB Borden Ontario Canada in the 60’s. We each had 27 hours and we soloed at 13. I had a natural ability to grease my landings so don’t know where that came from. My last flight was my check ride before going onto jets. My check pilot gave me the option to fly another day as the wind conditions were marginal. I said lets go and I had a spot on flight and ended up getting top flying marks. I might get a chance this month to fly the Chip once again. A fellow flying club member has one at his disposal for a month and said he would call me for a flip. If it works out it will be nearly 60 years in between flights.

[@asobester]

Remarkable! Not sure how many pilot/aeroplane type combinations are there out there that can claim a time span like that!

[@AnthonyFrancisJones]

Excellent! Really enjoyed that! Just missed out on the Chipmunk as a cadet many years ago and had time in the Bulldog. Later I was checked out on the Grob 115D and had a great deal of fun with that. What a change between the three consecutive a/c types for training cadets!

[@asobester]

Which was your favourite to fly?

[@monostripezebras]

beautiful aircraft

[@VikingChicken]

Love the videos! Keep it up!

[@asobester]

Thank you :)

[@johnbullick-wj1ru]

Was Edward Moores an old Stoic..? If so I remember him well.

[@ralfhinkemeyer8513]

What an unbelievable excellent video. 12 points out of 10!! 😂 As I open RAF Berlin-Gatow annually as an ATC Officer for a FlyIn Weekend since 13 years now, I see the visiting Chipmunks no with different eyes. Thank you, great work. HINKY ATCO, Pilot and former Parachutist

[@asobester]

Thank you very much for the kind words 😊

[@rodblievers620]

As